Shelter
by Alabaster86
Summary: Sokka and Toph fight their attraction.


_**A/N: This spontaneously came out of nowhere in one big rush when I saw the prompt 'shelter' for Tokka week.**_

_**Shelter**_

Sokka paced about the tiny cave, more of a crevasse really, touching each of its rough walls with his hands as he reached them. Sitting on a rock, arms crossed, attuned to every vibration in the man's body, Toph said nothing. The Water Tribe Warrior babbled enough for five people.

"Suki's gonna wonder where I am. She's gonna be pissed off and when she's pissed off, it's not a pretty sight, let me tell you. Why didn't we head back earlier? I saw the sky. You must have felt the storm coming. What are we doing here, Toph, together, in this squishy space, so close, you there, me here?"

"I don't know about _you_, Sokka. Me, I'm keeping nice and dry." He hated the way she deflected the sexual tension between them, with casual insouciance dismissed the unspoken and undone that hung in the air like lightning about to strike. With a tiny stomp of one foot, she reshaped the cave, widened it, smoothed it, until it was the most comfortable of rooms. "There, better."

Sokka moved forward and stuck his head out of the entrance, hoping to see that the storm was waning. It was not, and he jerked backwards as a deluge fell. He wasn't quick enough however and his hair was soaked, water pouring down his face.

"Oh for the love of…." he muttered, shaking himself like a dog just finished a swim. "And where's my sister when I need her."

"Relax, Water Tribe. Suki will understand. It's not like we're doing anything wrong."

He could hear the smirk in her voice. It angered and aroused him both. For a year now, the two had been dancing around each other; that spark of attraction that began during the first few months of their friendship, growing stronger and wilder. He'd married Suki at eighteen. He was twenty-one now, and it was Toph's turn at eighteen.

The earthbender had grown, as girls tended to do, into a young woman with curves, her face more angled, her voice slightly deeper. She was beautiful. No one could deny that fact. And she drew Sokka to her, the pull powerful and magnetic. Each time they met, it was more difficult to deny. And there was friendship too, a profound bond forged during times of stress and change and upheaval. Their connection could not be severed. He would not allow that anyway. He would not forego seeing Toph in order to subdue the urges he felt. No, Sokka would simply have to resist.

Suki was beautiful too. She was his wife and he loved her. He had never regretted the marriage and looked forward to raising a family with the redhead. On occasion they bickered. And on occasion their anger flared, red and violent, two strong willed individuals smashing against each other. The arguments sometimes deflated, sometimes invigorated them. But they always made it through, made up and continued on.

"You're thinking so loud, I can hear you," Toph said with a cackle. "What about?"

Sokka heaved a sigh. "You and Suki and how messed up it is that I'm attracted to both of you. I feel so guilty. I think about what it would be like, you know, to be with you." He flushed, rubbing one hand along the back of his neck. "And then I'm with Suki and …."

"You know how I feel. I've loved you for years now. Suki knows it too. She's strong, though, doesn't let it bother her. I'm not sure I could do the same." Toph hopped off her rock seat, blowing black bangs from her forehead. "Look, Sokka, I'll never do anything to jeopardize your marriage. I love Suki too. She's a good friend. What would that make me?"

The man shrugged. "Sometimes, things happen. We lose control or find ourselves in a situation that…." He was practically twitching now, his body afire with desire and longing. Sokka needed to get out of the cave or he would do something that he would regret for the rest of his life. Worse, maybe he _wouldn't_ regret it.

"I'm in control." Toph crossed her arms over her chest and stuck her chin out, all defiance.

But for once, Sokka could feel _her _tremble, all her stifled lust and need making that solid body quake. Toph's visceral reaction to his presence, positive evidence of the woman's desire, more than just her words, increased his own body's symptoms.

"I've got to get out of here," the Water Tribesman declared, his voice more like a squeak. He made for the cave entrance again and darted out.

"Idiot," Toph called after him. "Do you _want_ to die?"

The lightning was fierce, the strikes coming in one continuous flow, the sky ablaze. She ran after Sokka, shouting, her voice sucked away by the wind, drowned out by the thunder. Terrified, she stomped down with her feet. They sunk deep into the mud and she felt the man, far ahead of her now, exposed. Reaching out with her earthbending, she focused on Sokka, every vibration, every beat of his heart. With practiced ease, Toph encased him in earth, building a shelter around him, no way out. She joined him then, making a doorway, closing it off behind her.

He was like an otter, sleek, hair and clothes slicked down by the rain. She tried to imagine the pain on his face, the anxiety. What did that look like? Sometimes Toph wished more than anything that she could see, even if just for a day. She would memorize the faces of those she loved, the places she called home.

"Toph…you should have let me go." Sokka sounded broken and defeated.

"I'm not explaining your death to Suki. Suck it up, buddy. We're here until this storm ends."

"How, how did you get to be so tough and self-assured and confident, Toph?"

"I didn't have a choice. It was toughen up or wither away. And no way would I choose to wither." She put a hand on his arm. It was cold and slick beneath her fingers, the muscles well defined. A tremor moved through her body and she sighed, regret and sadness filling her up. "You're strong too. Don't you forget that; strong and good and happy with Suki. I can feel how she reacts every time you're near her; three years of marriage and she still gets excited."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry, Toph."

"You've got no reason to be. And I don't either."

They waited in silence until the storm ended, then walked back to Kyoshi Village just as quietly. The sun broke through the remaining puffs of grey clouds. It's heat felt almost unbearable for a moment and made their skin prickle.

"Here's my stop," Toph announced with a grin. "I'm sure Katara's been worried. You know her."

"Well, yeah, you might say that." Sokka grinned back. "Suki will be worried too."

"Then go make her feel better."

"Toph…"

"**No**," the young woman barked, putting up one hand as if in self defense, "No more talking. Go!"

Sokka went, glancing over his shoulder once at Toph's receding figure. He smiled a wry smile and walked tall and straight the remainder of the way. In the doorway of the house he and Suki shared, he spotted the red of her hair and the beginnings of her own smile.


End file.
